Am I a threat? I am a threat.

The most recent huge game that I beat is, unsurprisingly, Halo: Reach. I’ve got only one big gripe with the campaign, and it’s kind of annoying because it made me realise most of the other games suck.

The problem is this: In most games, the noses of the enemies point directly at you. In Halo: Reach, the noses of the enemies can also point at the squadmates, unless you’re closer to the enemies than they, in which case the noses of the enemies point directly at you.

Oh yeah, there’s probably a perfectly rational in-universe explanation. The Covenant really hates the Spartans and knows you’re a high-priority target that must be stopped at all costs. But that’s still a pretty lame explanation for the fact that you’re basically still trapped in a great big shooting gallery. In every game ever, you’re trapped in a great big shooting gallery.

I’m trying to be a modest guy. I don’t want the enemies to think I’m the most dangerous threat to them ever. Just a boring old soldier. Don’t mind me. You know, think tactically. There’s a big-ass tank behind me, that thing kills people. Warthogs are pretty damn deadly because the machine guns never run out of ammo. Nuke them instead. I just have a crappy assault rifle that can almost kill an enemy if I fire three magazines.

So I’m sort of asking the game designers to make a little bit more convincing AI. I tend to notice that the enemies think too much about me, when they clearly should have much pressing concerns.